2017 Avoyelles
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Tasting notes
Even better, the 2017 Avoyelles Oakville checks in as a mostly co-fermented blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot, all fermented and raised in new French oak. Stunning crème de cassis and black raspberry-like fruits give way to more toasted spice, dried flower, and cedar notes with time in the glass. Full-bodied and beautifully textured on the palate, it’s a wonderfully complex, balanced 2017 that does everything right. I’d be thrilled to have bottles in the cellar, and I suspect it will evolve gracefully for 20+ years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Avoyelles is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Rich and explosive on the palate, the 2017 conveys tons of savory freshness and intensity. Lavender, sage, mint, black cherry and espresso all soar out of the glass. The 2017 is a wine of real character and personality; it is also absolutely gorgeous. Over the last year, the 2017 has really come together. What a wine!
The 2017 Oakville Ranch Avoyelles is blended of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Medium garnet-purple colored, it comes prancing out of the glass with pretty baked plums, kirsch and blackcurrant cordial scents plus wafts of rose hip tea, forest floor and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is laden with spicy black fruit preserves, framed by chewy tannins, finishing with an herbal lift.
The 2017 Avoyelles, Patria's Cabernet Franc-based wine, possesses quite a bit of depth, but it is not fully put together, that is not surprising given the high percentage of Franc in the blend. The aromatics alone are striking, though, and suggest a very bright future, once all the elements have time to meld together.